MSC anchors to rescue Maersk Box and prevent general average
Ship fire
MSC says it has incurred part of the costs of rescuing the “Maersk Elba” to prevent public damage. This alliance partner ship Maersk became rudderless on Christmas Day after a fire in an engine room off the coast of Portugal.
Rob McCor
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The Swiss-based shipping company said in a customer flyer that it had taken this “exceptional decision” to avoid extra costs and delays. The ship of 13,492 TEU was called up with the help of two tugboats and was brought to safety by “Alp Defender” by towing it to Green Island. It has since undergone repairs there.
Afrig Gross
Had Maersk called in the general average, all shipping stakeholders would have had to contribute to the costs of salvaging ships and cargo. Public public issues are generally complex, can cause significant delays and usually take years to settle on a legal basis. It is unclear to what extent MSC is now trying to recoup the rescue costs paid from its clients.
According to the shipping company, the ship will leave for Wilhelmshaven on Wednesday 20 January, where containers bound for Felixstowe and Rotterdam will also be unloaded. They will continue to their final destination by feeding vessel. According to AIS data, the ship had not departed on Wednesday morning.
Maersk Elba was on its way from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Felixstowe, when a fire broke out in the engine room outside. The crew managed to dampen it on its own, but attempts to restart the propulsion system and put it back on with emergency repairs failed. The giant container arrived at Green Island on New Year’s Day.
Foto: XEON, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
